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Electric Cars and HOA Living

Electric cars are becoming more and more popular thanks to their environmental benefits and because electricity is so much cheaper than gas. While more and more charging stations are popping up in various public places, such as stores, most people charge their electric cars at home, which is great if you have your own home, but for people living in apartments, it’s not easy to charge their electric cars.

What’s the Problem?

Having an electric car when you own a home is perfect. Simply park your car and plug it in. It affects your home’s electric bill, but the savings are still there because you don’t have to spend a fortune on gasoline. However, when you live in an apartment, it’s not so easy. You can’t simply run a cord from your living room down to your car. Even if you could, the apartment owner and landlord probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

Of course, there are charging stations that can be installed. You have probably seen them at stores or other environmentally conscious businesses. People who patronize the business get the benefit of charging their car for free. Unfortunately, a lot of HOAs are refusing to install these charging stations, giving apartment dwellers little option.

What’s the Solution?

Tesla has tried to help solve this problem in some of the bigger suburban areas like New York City. They have installed charging stations in parking garages, so people can charge their cars, but they aren’t everywhere and that doesn’t help everyone. Luckily, Tesla is working on something new that can help people living in apartments.

They are working on a power sharing feature that has the latest generation wall connector. This allows up to four wall connectors to be installed on the same circuit breaker. Now, thanks to their merger with SolarCity, they are even working on a way to use solar roofs to feed into the Tesla.

Electric cars are a great invention, but your HOA may not be ready to handle them. Depending on the location and how many people drive electric cars, it may be a good idea to bring up the idea to the board and accept an increase in monthly dues to help pay for the energy consumption.